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Samsung reported a record $5.2 billion profit in the
first quarter, overhauling Nokia as the world's top
mobile phone seller, and its Galaxy smartphones
outstripped Apple's iPhone.

The South Korean company today announced revenues of
45.27 trillion Korean won on a consolidated basis for
the first quarter ended March 31, 2012, a 22-percent
increase year-on-year.

For the quarter, the company's consolidated operating
profit reached an all-time high of 5.85 trillion won
representing a 98-percent increase year-on-year.
Consolidated net profit for the January-March period was
5.05 trillion won.

Despite a decrease in sales of semiconductor chips and
TVs due to seasonal factors, an increase in rofitability
in display panels and mobile phones pushed up quarterly
operating profit margins by 1.7 percentage points to
12.9 percent.

Samsung's strong performance in the quarter was driven
mainly by the IT & Mobile Communications (IM) segment,
which is comprised of four businesses, Mobile
Communications, Telecommunication Systems, IT Solutions
and Digital Imaging. In particular, solid growth in the
Mobile Communications business, with brisk sales of
flagship GALAXY Note and GALAXY S II devices contributed
to the company's profitability.

The consolidated operating profit for IT & Mobile
Communications businesses reached 4.27 trillion won on
revenue of 23.22 trillion won. The Display Panel
business rebounded in the first quarter with operating
gains of 280 billion won, following an uptick in demand
for high-margin panels used in tablets, 3D/ LED TVs and
premium OLED panels.

Looking into the second quarter, Samsung expects to
improve profitability in the chip business with a
recovery in PC DRAM price and by expanding its new
product category with mobile application processors
based on 32 nanometer-class process technology. Samsung
plans to also bolster its competitive edge in mobile
phones with the debut of new high-end smartphones, and
by reinforcing the full lineup of products and its
presence in emerging markets.

Samsung's Semiconductor Business - including Memory and
System LSI - posted an operating profit of 760 billion
won in the first quarter.

Weaker-than-expected off-peak season demand and a global
supply crunch of HDDs coupled with low demand for PC
DRAM chips and the oversupply of mobile DRAM impacted
profit margins, in which the memory portion saw its
revenue slip to 4.89 trillion won. For NAND, spot price
remained weak due to sluggish demand compounded by early
stage products from geometry migration flowing into the
channel market.

Despite adverse market conditions, Samsung's chip
business was buoyed by strong demand for server DRAM and
by expanding our value-added product mix such as
products based on the 30-nanometer-class and
20-nanometer-class process technologies. Increased
orders for Solid State Drives (SSDs) and Embedded
Multimedia Cards (eMMC) also helped the chip business to
cushion the market squeeze.

In the second quarter, Samsung is poised to ramp up
supply of high-capacity, power-efficient DRAM for
servers based on its green memory solution. As for NAND,
the company will spur growth by expanding the
20-nanometer-class portion. Sales of CMOS image sensors
will remain high in the April-June quarter, as demand
for smartphones equipped with high-resolution cameras is
expected to be strong.

Despite traditionally weak seasonality, continued
economic stagnation in Europe, and the prolonged supply
shortage in the PC industry, the Display Panel Business
was able to improve profitability by expanding sales of
high-end premium panels such as LED TV and 3D panels,
which pushed TV panel sales up in the mid-20 percent
range on-year. Increased sales of high-resolution panels
for tablet PCs and OLED panels for smartphones also
helped boost profit in the quarter.

Looking ahead, although the market for monitor panels
will remain stagnant, demand for tablet and notebook
panels is expected to increase on seasonal
education-related demand while TV panels are expected to
lift due to Chinese Labor Day sales and the London
Olympics.

Moving forward with the establishment of Samsung Display
Corporation, the company will continue to enhance
profitability by expanding sales of premium panel
products such 3D, large size and LED panels, while
smartphone demand is expected to continue to fuel OLED
panel sales.

Samsung?s Consumer Electronics businesses, which
encompass Visual Display and Digital Appliances,
registered an operating profit of 530 billion won in the
quarter, up 550 percent year-on-year, on revenues of
10.67 trillion won.

Although weak seasonality led to a quarter-on-quarter
dip in revenue, strong sales of premium TVs in developed
markets and LED TVs in emerging markets saw shipments
outstrip market growth and drive a sharp increase in
profitability.

In the second quarter, market growth for flat panel TVs
in the mid-single digits is expected on rising demand in
emerging markets and increased sales of LED TVs which
are forecast to account for over 60 percent of the TV
market in the quarter. In emerging markets, Samsung aims
to expand its presence with region-specific LED TV
models.